Viktor Hovland’s FedEx Cup win most watched since Tiger Woods

Despite the fact that Viktor Hovland didn’t let Xander Schauffele get any nearer than three strokes on Sunday, his Tour Championship victory produced staggering numbers for CBS.

In a memo distributed Tuesday, CBS Sports activities introduced that its closing spherical protection of the 2023 Tour Championship averaged 4.613 million viewers.

It scored the most-watched telecast of this occasion since 2018.

After all, Tiger Woods received the Tour Championship in 2018 in emphatic vogue, marking his first PGA Tour victory in 5 years.

Photograph by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

Woods’ victory in 2018 drew 7.202 million viewers, a staggering quantity since that event competed alongside NFL soccer within the Sunday afternoon window.

However since then, the PGA Tour adjusted its season in order that the FedEx Cup playoffs wrap up earlier than soccer begins.

Even so, Hovland’s victory produced spectacular numbers, particularly contemplating he held a six-shot lead going into the ultimate spherical.

A 1-hour, 53-minute climate delay additionally halted play Sunday afternoon, which is rarely a great signal for broadcast numbers. Sometimes, tv viewers will go elsewhere—or abandon watching the protection altogether each time play is suspended.

But, the CBS broadcast on Sunday peaked at 5.510 million viewers.

The early spherical telecast, impacted essentially the most by the extreme thunderstorms, nonetheless drew 2.330 million observers.

Photograph by Jason Allen/ISI Photographs/Getty Pictures

The spectacular numbers that CBS drew might outcome from Hovland’s rising reputation. Golf followers in every single place appear to like the 25-year-old Norwegian, who has an infectious smile and a carefree character.

That appeared to be the case in Atlanta, too, as followers flocked to Hovland from Wednesday to Sunday, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of many hottest gamers on the earth.

Hovland received the BMW Championship after which the Tour Championship to assert the FedEx Cup, the PGA Tour’s season-long prize. He earned over $32 million from these two victories alone.

CBS Sports activities had a fairly good season as properly. The community averaged 2.206 million viewers for its 42 PGA Tour telecasts, up 1% from 2022.

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By means of. You possibly can observe him on Twitter @jack_milko for extra golf protection. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough too.